Description
When Polynesian people came to Hawaii, hundreds of years ago, they brought legends. We know this because the same stories and similar hero names are found in other Polynesian groups. Other legends grew about historical events in our islands, about real people and places. Some are very old while others have grown in recent times. As all these stories were told and retold changes crept in. While the main story was the same, details became very different. No one can say that one version of a story is right and the others wrong. At the end of each legend I have given the principal source used. I, too, have made changes. Many of these stories are about chiefs, for they led a varied and colorful life and the common people liked to hear about them. In old Hawaii each valley, from mountain to sea, was a district with its district chief. Sometimes one chief made himself ruler of several districts or of an entire island. Thus he became a high chief with lesser chiefs under him. We tell and read legends not only for enjoyment but also because they help us understand people who lived long ago.

Excerpt
"Why is that crowd down the valley Brother! What are all those people doing” Pikoi's brother was preparing food for the imu and did not hear the boy's question. Pikoi and his father had come from Kauai the day before. They had come to Manoa Valley on Oahu to visit a married sister. A crowd the very first day! Pikoi must find out what was going on. At first he went slowly down the trail, watching the people eagerly. He saw someone with a bow and arrows. Rat shooting! That was a sport the boy loved and in a moment he was running. Pikoi reached the crowd and pushed his way among them. He bumped a tall woman who turned to him angrily. "What are you doing here" she asked. "Why do you push in beside your chiefess” Pikoi did not quite understand that this woman was the chiefess—the high chiefess of Oahu. "It is rat shooting, isn't it" he asked eagerly. "I love rat shooting. “ The chiefess must have liked the boy's love of her favorite sport, for she spoke good-naturedly now. "Can you shoot rats” "A little. “ "That man with a red lei and with a bow in his hand is Mainele," the chiefess said. "He is the best rat shooter on Oahu. I am looking for a champion to shoot against him. Do you want to be my champion” The chiefess was joking. A boy could not shoot against Mainele! But Pikoi did not know she was joking. "Oh yes," he said. "May I use your arrows”

Table of Contents
Preface.Vii -- Acknowledgments.Viii -- PikoiRat Shooting.3 -- Enemies Of The Chief.7 -- Pikoi Sees Hawaii.19 -- PeleHow Hawaii Was Made Safe.29 -- How Hawaii Was Divided.42 -- Holua Sledding.45 -- The Puna Chief Who Boasted.49 -- The Girl Who Gave Breadfruit.51 -- Kalapana.56 -- The Pounded Water Of Kekela.61 -- Other Legends Of The Island Of Hawaii Woman-Of-The-Fire And Woman-Of-The Water.69 -- When The Ocean Covered Hawaii.73 -- Kila.78 -- The Rescue Of Hina.89 -- How umi Became High Chief.99The Giant Guard.108 -- The Wonderful Banana Skin.115 -- Vi Hawaii Island LegendsThe Boy Who Came To His Father.121 -- The Swing.132 -- The Dream Girl.142 -- The Hidden Island Of ualakaa.147 -- The Ki-Leaf Trumpet.158 -- A Kite And A Toy Canoe.167 -- The God Of Love.171 -- The Gift Of Ku.176 -- The Man Who Always Wore A Kihei.178 -- The Shark That Came For Poi.186 -- Punia And The Sharks.190 -- The Kihapu.196 -- The Cowry Shell.202 -- Food For Kohala.210 -- The Land Beneath The Sea.215 -- The Winning Of Makolea.222 -- ieie And Lehua. 230 -- The Chiefs Who Went Around Hawaii. 233 -- Glossary. 237 --